We handed out hundreds of copies of the issue at the district rally on August 11. If you didn't get a copy, you can grab one here.

The following letter from the President of the AEA to all district employees is published in the first issue of the Academy Journal of Education, which will be released to the public on August 11th. The Journal is a quarterly publication which contains news, opinion, interviews, reviews, and other content focused on educational issues and District 20.

In a massive study, covering 70% of the nation's charter schools, conducted by Stanford University, researchers found that 83% of charter schools performed worse or no better than traditional public schools. Specifically, "37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter schools demonstrating no significant difference." For a summary of the report and a link to the full report, click here.

In other news, Mathematica Policy Research conducted a study finding that merit pay doesn't work. According to the study, merit pay, such as the TAP program used at DCC, did not improve student standardized test scores or teacher retention. I don't know about the test scores at DCC, but their teacher retention certainly is in line with this study. Harrison School District 2, the local experiment in performance pay, is experiencing huge turnover. Read more about the finding here.

Why, then, one might ask, is the Obama administration pushing charter schools and merit pay? Why is the state of Colorado working so hard to apply for Race for the Top, a program that pushes failed reform policies? These are attacks on public education in the guise of "reform." If the intent is to destroy public education, diminish the unions, and narrow the curriculum, such policies are not failures at all.

What does work? Adequate plan time, stable staffs, small class sizes, and teacher empowerment. Small class sizes is one of the most important tools for improving student performance, as shown by many studies.

The Obama administration's anti-public education policies, including corporatization, charterization, and pay for performance initiatives, have earned it the enmity of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. The financial crisis of the last few years has forced the Obama administration to make difficult decisions, and it has come down on the side of the banks and corporations against public employees. Once key Obama supporters, the NEA and AFT have changed their tune. Let's hope that they will finally bury their knee-jerk support of the Democratic party and stop tying our fortunes to politicians who are willing to sell out the American people. Check out the AFT President's speech at the annual convention. Also watch NEA President Van Roekel's address to the annual convention. Van Roekel:

It's about time Van Roekel and the NEA leadership smelled the coffee. Maybe the Obama administration would have thought differently about Race to the Top had the unions not been so busy peddling the "reforms" to their members and had they consistently opposed it from the beginning. Instead, Van Roekel and the like fawned over Obama, even as he proposed anti-labor policies. Maybe now we'll see some action from the NEA. We need to oppose anti-teacher, anti-public education, anti-labor programs and policies and the corrupt politicians who back them. 

With the recent pass of Senate Bill 191 by the Colorado legislature, our state seems to be moving toward pay-for-performance. As reported by the Colorado Springs Independent recently, Mike Miles' pay-for-performance scheme is running into heated opposition and high staff turnover. How will District 20 respond to this anti-public education initiative? Let's hope that Dr. Hatchell and the District 20 School Board take inspiration from past D20 leaders, such as School Board member Dr. Jack Sherman in 1980 (speaking during the recession of the early 1980s):

The NEA finally recognized the anti-public education, anti-labor principles embodied in the Race to the Top initiative and decided to vote "no confidence" on the program. While not directly opposing the Obama administration, the vote is a step away from the pro-Obama rhetoric that has characterized NEA statements since Obama's election. The NEA should distance itself from competitive grants (and the politicians who promote them) and support the full and equitable funding of public education.

Budget cuts for 2011 - 2012 are looming large in the sight of people in Washington. Arne Duncan says as many as 300,000 public education jobs may be lost next year, and the NEA is ramping up its 'Speak Up' campaign. In District 20 we've been lucky so far; the cuts haven't affected the classroom. Next year, all bets are off, as the continuing financial and budget crises tear into public school funding. Check out this page for ways to get involved with the NEA efforts in Washington.

"In a union election with national significance, Karen Lewis, CORE caucus candidate for President of Chicago Teachers Union, decisively defeated incumbent Marilyn Stewart. As reported at www.substance.net, American Arbitration Association announced early in the morning on June 12 that Lewis got 12,080 votes to Stewart's 8,326. Over her years in power Stewart froze up when Arne Duncan, then head of Chicago Public Schools, pushed school privatizations, turnarounds, obsessive testing, closures and massive teacher layoffs. During this period Karen Lewis and the Caucus of Rank and File Educators organized a strong fight back against these measures. Lewis' victory today represents a major national challenge to now-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his policies, today being forced onto every school system in the U.S." Check out Karen's speech. Also, watch this video on the anger in Chicago at Chicago Public Schools budget shenanigans.